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One in three Democrats think Biden should quit the race, poll finds
Among the names of top Democrats put before respondents, only Michelle Obama, wife of former Democratic President Barack Obama, outperformed Biden.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they exit the stage during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., June 28, 2024. / REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
One in three Democrats think U.S. President Joe Biden should end his reelection bid following last week's debate against Republican Donald Trump, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on July 2.
But the two-day poll found that both Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, maintain the support of 40 percent of registered voters, suggesting that Biden has not lost ground since the debate. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Among the names of top Democrats put before respondents, only Michelle Obama, wife of former Democratic President Barack Obama, outperformed Biden and led Trump 50 percent to 39 percent in a hypothetical matchup. Michelle Obama, author of the best-selling 2018 memoir "Becoming," has said repeatedly she does not intend to run for president.
Some 32 percent of Democrats in the poll said Biden should give up his reelection bid following a debate in which he stammered throughout and failed to energetically challenge Trump's attacks, which included numerous false claims.
Trump faces his own political liabilities, though the criminal cases related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 defeat have ground to a halt. In a close matchup, neither candidate can afford to lose the support of a sizable chunk of his political base.
Democratic voters have long harbored doubts about Biden's bid. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in January, while the party's nomination contest was still under way, 49 percent of Democrats said he should not run again in 2024.
Biden has vowed to stay in the race. But should he exit, the Democrats whose names emerge as possible replacements perform only as well or worse than Biden against Trump in hypothetical matchups, according to the poll.
Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, trailed Trump by one percentage point, 42 percent to 43 percent , a difference that was well within the poll's 3.5 percentage point margin of error, making Harris' showing statistically just as strong as Biden's.
Harris has stepped out of Biden's shadow in recent months, becoming a key voice in the administration for abortion rights. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 81 percent of Democrats voters viewed Harris favorably, compared to 78 percent who viewed Biden the same way.
Biden, however, at 81 years old, was seen as too old to work in government by 59 percent of Democrats, a reading similar to the results in a January poll.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a rising star in the Democratic Party who many observers expect could seek the presidency in a future election, performed marginally worse, trailing Trump 39 percent to 42 percent .
None of the elected Democrats tested in head-to-head matchups against Trump have formally declared their candidacies.
The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,070 U.S. adults nationwide.
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